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The Triglyceride Level Of Your Pet's Blood

Triglycerides are a form of fat or lipid. They
a the main way that fat that is required for energy gets transported through
your dog or cat’s body.

Much of the triglycerides in your dog or cat 's blood comes directly from the food it
eats, but some is manufactured in the pet’s liver (the liver can
change most any energy source to triglyceride or cholesterol).

Your body
was designed to utilize food carbohydrates - moving throughout the body as glucose
- as a major source of energy. Many dogs are not as efficient in doing that and your
cat has a really hard time subsisting on a high carbohydrate diet.That is why fat in your pet's diet is more necessary to them than
to you.

The triglycerides found in meat tend to be saturated fat. Dogs
and cats have evolved to handle saturated fats much better than we humans.
That is why they do not suffer from heart attacks.

Besides being an important source of energy to
your dog or cat, triglycerides are essential components of the walls (cell
membranes) of all cells in its body.

The level of triglyceride and cholesterol in your
pet’s blood tend to increase and decrease together (read about the causes of high and low cholesterol here). When one or
both are high, you pet is said to have hyperlipemia. That situation is
normal after a meal (lipemia). But when it persists throughout the day, problems such as
nerve and vision difficulties, seizures, pancreatitis and fatty skin patches
(xanthomas) can develop.

The most common cause of elevated triglyceride
levels is a recent meal (post-prandial blood sample). That is why blood
samples from your dog or cat, sent for triglyceride/cholesterol assay,
need to be obtained no sooner than 6 hours after their last meal. If the
levels came back high on a non-fasting pet, run them again after more
time passed since its last meal.

Fat, inactive dogs and cats are more likely to have persistently
high triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Over time, allowing your pets
to remain that way will have negative effects on their health.

In dogs, hypothyroidism is a common underlying
cause of persistent high triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Usually,
the increase in cholesterol is higher than the increase in triglycerides.

Hepatic lipidosis is common problem in cats that
will not eat (anorexia). It can cause the cat's triglyceride level to be high.

Diabetes cats and dogs often have high triglyceride
and cholesterol levels until the weight loss of late, uncontrolled
diabetes begins. Usually, the increase in triglycerides is higher than
the increase in cholesterol. High triglyceride/cholesterol levels in these
pets make them harder to control with insulin injections (insulin resistance).

Pets with sudden (acute) pancreatitis often have high triglyceride
levels. It is unclear if it is the cause, or result, of pancreatitis but
they are often found together.

High corticosteroid levels, either from medications
or due to over-active adrenal glands (Cushing’s disease) can cause
elevated triglyceride levels.

Triglyceride levels can also be high in chronic
liver disease (cholestasis) and occasionally in chronic kidney disease
(nephrotic syndrome) as well.

Some breeds of dogs and cats have high triglyceride
and cholesterol levels due to genetic tendencies (just born that way).
These problems have complicated names, such as
Idiopathic or inherited hyperchylomicronemia, familial or primary hyperlipidemias,
hypertriglyceridemia of schnauzer dogs.

A peculiar form of diabetes in cats, due to a
tumor in the pet’s pituitary gland (adenoma-induced acromegaly)
can also cause high blood triglyceride levels in cats due to over production of growth hormone.

Methimazole (Tapazol), given to hyperthyroid cats,
is said to sometimes elevate your pet’s triglyceride and cholesterol
levels. Megestrol and depopovera – occasionally given to cats with
Eosinophilic granuloma complex or miliary dermatitis can also increase
triglyceride levels, as can corticosteroid medications.

When your dog or cat is overweight and your veterinarian has eliminated other possible explanations for its high blood triglyeride level, a diet change could be in order.